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version: "1.0.1" name: az description: Use az CLI for Azure cloud resource management, Azure DevOps operations, VMs, storage, networking, AKS, and Key Vault with comprehensive authentication and output control.

Azure CLI (az) Skill

You are an Azure CLI specialist. This skill provides comprehensive guidance for managing Azure resources, Azure DevOps, and cloud infrastructure using the az command-line tool.

Core Principles

Authentication

Always ensure proper authentication before running Azure commands:

Use az login for interactive authentication
Use az account show to verify current subscription
Use az account set to switch subscriptions
Service principal authentication for automation

Output Formats

Azure CLI supports multiple output formats:

--output table - Human-readable table (default for many commands)
--output json - Full JSON output for scripting
--output tsv - Tab-separated values for parsing
--output yaml - YAML format
--output jsonc - Colorized JSON
-o - Short form for --output

Query and Filtering

Use JMESPath queries with --query to filter results:

bash

az vm list --query "[?location=='eastus'].name" -o table
az resource list --query "[?type=='Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines']"

Authentication and Account Management

Login and Authentication

bash

# Interactive login
az login
 
# Login with specific tenant
az login --tenant <tenant-id>
 
# Login with service principal
az login --service-principal -u <app-id> -p <password-or-cert> --tenant <tenant-id>
 
# Login with managed identity
az login --identity
 
# Check authentication status
az account show
 
# List all accessible subscriptions
az account list -o table

Subscription Management

bash

# Show current subscription
az account show
 
# List all subscriptions
az account list -o table
 
# Set active subscription
az account set --subscription <subscription-id-or-name>
 
# Show subscription details
az account show --query "{SubscriptionName:name, SubscriptionId:id, TenantId:tenantId}"

Service Principal Management

bash

# Create service principal
az ad sp create-for-rbac --name <name>
 
# Create with specific role
az ad sp create-for-rbac --name <name> --role contributor --scopes /subscriptions/<subscription-id>
 
# List service principals
az ad sp list --display-name <name>
 
# Delete service principal
az ad sp delete --id <app-id>
 
# Reset credentials
az ad sp credential reset --id <app-id>

Resource Management

Resource Groups

bash

# List resource groups
az group list -o table
 
# Create resource group
az group create --name <name> --location <location>
 
# Show resource group
az group show --name <name>
 
# Delete resource group
az group delete --name <name> --yes --no-wait
 
# Update tags
az group update --name <name> --tags Environment=Dev Project=MyApp
 
# List resources in group
az resource list --resource-group <name> -o table
 
# Export resource group template
az group export --name <name>

Generic Resource Operations

bash

# List all resources
az resource list -o table
 
# List resources by type
az resource list --resource-type Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines -o table
 
# Show resource
az resource show --ids <resource-id>
az resource show --resource-group <group> --name <name> --resource-type <type>
 
# Update resource tags
az resource tag --tags Environment=Prod --ids <resource-id>
 
# Delete resource
az resource delete --ids <resource-id>
 
# Move resources
az resource move --destination-group <dest-group> --ids <resource-id1> <resource-id2>

Locations and Providers

bash

# List available locations
az account list-locations -o table
 
# List resource providers
az provider list -o table
 
# Show provider
az provider show --namespace Microsoft.Compute
 
# Register provider
az provider register --namespace Microsoft.Compute
 
# Check registration status
az provider show --namespace Microsoft.Compute --query "registrationState"

Azure DevOps

DevOps Configuration

bash

# Configure default organization and project
az devops configure --defaults organization=https://dev.azure.com/myorg project=MyProject
 
# Show current defaults
az devops configure --list
 
# Login to Azure DevOps
az devops login --organization https://dev.azure.com/myorg

Projects

bash

# List projects
az devops project list --organization https://dev.azure.com/myorg -o table
 
# Create project
az devops project create --name <name>
 
# Show project
az devops project show --project <name>
 
# Delete project
az devops project delete --id <project-id> --yes

Repositories

bash

# List repositories
az repos list --organization https://dev.azure.com/myorg --project <project> -o table
 
# Show repository
az repos show --repository <repo-name>
 
# Create repository
az repos create --name <name> --project <project>
 
# Delete repository
az repos delete --id <repo-id> --yes
 
# Import repository
az repos import create --git-source-url <url> --repository <repo-name>
 
# List branches
az repos ref list --repository <repo-name>
 
# List pull requests
az repos pr list --repository <repo-name> -o table

Pipelines

bash

# List pipelines
az pipelines list --organization https://dev.azure.com/myorg --project <project> -o table
 
# Show pipeline
az pipelines show --name <pipeline-name>
 
# Run pipeline
az pipelines run --name <pipeline-name>
 
# List pipeline runs
az pipelines runs list -o table
 
# Show run details
az pipelines runs show --id <run-id>
 
# List build definitions
az pipelines build list -o table
 
# Queue build
az pipelines build queue --definition-name <name>

Virtual Machines

VM Management

bash

# List VMs
az vm list -o table
az vm list --resource-group <group> -o table
 
# Show VM
az vm show --resource-group <group> --name <vm-name>
 
# Create VM (basic)
az vm create \
  --resource-group <group> \
  --name <vm-name> \
  --image Ubuntu2204 \
  --admin-username azureuser \
  --generate-ssh-keys
 
# Create VM (detailed)
az vm create \
  --resource-group <group> \
  --name <vm-name> \
  --image Ubuntu2204 \
  --size Standard_DS2_v2 \
  --admin-username azureuser \
  --ssh-key-values @~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub \
  --vnet-name myVnet \
  --subnet mySubnet \
  --public-ip-address myPublicIP \
  --nsg myNSG
 
# Start VM
az vm start --resource-group <group> --name <vm-name>
 
# Stop VM (deallocate)
az vm deallocate --resource-group <group> --name <vm-name>
 
# Stop VM (without deallocate)
az vm stop --resource-group <group> --name <vm-name>
 
# Restart VM
az vm restart --resource-group <group> --name <vm-name>
 
# Delete VM
az vm delete --resource-group <group> --name <vm-name> --yes
 
# Resize VM
az vm resize --resource-group <group> --name <vm-name> --size Standard_DS3_v2
 
# List available sizes
az vm list-sizes --location eastus -o table

VM Images

bash

# List popular images
az vm image list -o table
 
# List all images from publisher
az vm image list --publisher Canonical --all -o table
 
# Show image details
az vm image show --urn Canonical:Ubuntu2204:latest
 
# List VM SKUs
az vm list-skus --location eastus --size Standard_D -o table

VM Extensions

bash

# List extensions on VM
az vm extension list --resource-group <group> --vm-name <vm-name>
 
# Install extension
az vm extension set \
  --resource-group <group> \
  --vm-name <vm-name> \
  --name customScript \
  --publisher Microsoft.Azure.Extensions
 
# Delete extension
az vm extension delete --resource-group <group> --vm-name <vm-name> --name <extension-name>

Storage

Storage Accounts

bash

# List storage accounts
az storage account list -o table
 
# Create storage account
az storage account create \
  --name <account-name> \
  --resource-group <group> \
  --location eastus \
  --sku Standard_LRS
 
# Show storage account
az storage account show --name <account-name>
 
# Get connection string
az storage account show-connection-string --name <account-name>
 
# Get access keys
az storage account keys list --account-name <account-name>
 
# Delete storage account
az storage account delete --name <account-name> --yes

Blob Storage

bash

# List containers
az storage container list --account-name <account-name> -o table
 
# Create container
az storage container create --name <container-name> --account-name <account-name>
 
# Upload blob
az storage blob upload \
  --account-name <account-name> \
  --container-name <container-name> \
  --name <blob-name> \
  --file <local-file-path>
 
# Download blob
az storage blob download \
  --account-name <account-name> \
  --container-name <container-name> \
  --name <blob-name> \
  --file <local-file-path>
 
# List blobs
az storage blob list --account-name <account-name> --container-name <container-name> -o table
 
# Delete blob
az storage blob delete --account-name <account-name> --container-name <container-name> --name <blob-name>
 
# Copy blob
az storage blob copy start \
  --account-name <dest-account> \
  --destination-container <dest-container> \
  --destination-blob <dest-blob> \
  --source-uri <source-blob-url>

Networking

Virtual Networks

bash

# List vnets
az network vnet list -o table
 
# Create vnet
az network vnet create \
  --resource-group <group> \
  --name <vnet-name> \
  --address-prefix 10.0.0.0/16 \
  --subnet-name <subnet-name> \
  --subnet-prefix 10.0.1.0/24
 
# Show vnet
az network vnet show --resource-group <group> --name <vnet-name>
 
# Delete vnet
az network vnet delete --resource-group <group> --name <vnet-name>
 
# List subnets
az network vnet subnet list --resource-group <group> --vnet-name <vnet-name> -o table
 
# Create subnet
az network vnet subnet create \
  --resource-group <group> \
  --vnet-name <vnet-name> \
  --name <subnet-name> \
  --address-prefix 10.0.2.0/24

Network Security Groups (NSGs)

bash

# List NSGs
az network nsg list -o table
 
# Create NSG
az network nsg create --resource-group <group> --name <nsg-name>
 
# List NSG rules
az network nsg rule list --resource-group <group> --nsg-name <nsg-name> -o table
 
# Create NSG rule
az network nsg rule create \
  --resource-group <group> \
  --nsg-name <nsg-name> \
  --name <rule-name> \
  --priority 100 \
  --source-address-prefixes '*' \
  --source-port-ranges '*' \
  --destination-address-prefixes '*' \
  --destination-port-ranges 80 \
  --access Allow \
  --protocol Tcp \
  --description "Allow HTTP"
 
# Delete NSG rule
az network nsg rule delete --resource-group <group> --nsg-name <nsg-name> --name <rule-name>

Public IPs and Load Balancers

bash

# List public IPs
az network public-ip list -o table
 
# Create public IP
az network public-ip create --resource-group <group> --name <ip-name>
 
# Show public IP address
az network public-ip show --resource-group <group> --name <ip-name> --query "ipAddress"
 
# List load balancers
az network lb list -o table
 
# Create load balancer
az network lb create \
  --resource-group <group> \
  --name <lb-name> \
  --sku Standard \
  --public-ip-address <ip-name>

App Services

Web Apps

bash

# List app service plans
az appservice plan list -o table
 
# Create app service plan
az appservice plan create \
  --name <plan-name> \
  --resource-group <group> \
  --sku B1 \
  --is-linux
 
# List web apps
az webapp list -o table
 
# Create web app
az webapp create \
  --resource-group <group> \
  --plan <plan-name> \
  --name <app-name> \
  --runtime "NODE:18-lts"
 
# Show web app
az webapp show --resource-group <group> --name <app-name>
 
# Deploy from Git
az webapp deployment source config \
  --name <app-name> \
  --resource-group <group> \
  --repo-url <git-url> \
  --branch main \
  --manual-integration
 
# Deploy ZIP file
az webapp deployment source config-zip \
  --resource-group <group> \
  --name <app-name> \
  --src <zip-file-path>
 
# Start/stop/restart web app
az webapp start --resource-group <group> --name <app-name>
az webapp stop --resource-group <group> --name <app-name>
az webapp restart --resource-group <group> --name <app-name>
 
# View logs
az webapp log tail --resource-group <group> --name <app-name>
 
# Delete web app
az webapp delete --resource-group <group> --name <app-name>

App Settings and Configuration

bash

# List app settings
az webapp config appsettings list --name <app-name> --resource-group <group>
 
# Set app settings
az webapp config appsettings set \
  --name <app-name> \
  --resource-group <group> \
  --settings KEY1=value1 KEY2=value2
 
# Delete app setting
az webapp config appsettings delete \
  --name <app-name> \
  --resource-group <group> \
  --setting-names KEY1
 
# Set connection strings
az webapp config connection-string set \
  --name <app-name> \
  --resource-group <group> \
  --connection-string-type SQLAzure \
  --settings DefaultConnection="connection-string-value"

Container Services (AKS)

AKS Cluster Management

bash

# List AKS clusters
az aks list -o table
 
# Create AKS cluster
az aks create \
  --resource-group <group> \
  --name <cluster-name> \
  --node-count 3 \
  --enable-addons monitoring \
  --generate-ssh-keys
 
# Get AKS credentials
az aks get-credentials --resource-group <group> --name <cluster-name>
 
# Show AKS cluster
az aks show --resource-group <group> --name <cluster-name>
 
# Scale AKS cluster
az aks scale --resource-group <group> --name <cluster-name> --node-count 5
 
# Upgrade AKS cluster
az aks upgrade --resource-group <group> --name <cluster-name> --kubernetes-version 1.28.0
 
# Stop AKS cluster
az aks stop --resource-group <group> --name <cluster-name>
 
# Start AKS cluster
az aks start --resource-group <group> --name <cluster-name>
 
# Delete AKS cluster
az aks delete --resource-group <group> --name <cluster-name> --yes

Container Registry (ACR)

bash

# List container registries
az acr list -o table
 
# Create container registry
az acr create --resource-group <group> --name <registry-name> --sku Basic
 
# Login to registry
az acr login --name <registry-name>
 
# List repositories
az acr repository list --name <registry-name> -o table
 
# Show repository tags
az acr repository show-tags --name <registry-name> --repository <repo-name>
 
# Delete image
az acr repository delete --name <registry-name> --image <repo-name>:<tag> --yes
 
# Import image
az acr import \
  --name <registry-name> \
  --source docker.io/library/nginx:latest \
  --image nginx:latest

Databases

SQL Databases

bash

# List SQL servers
az sql server list -o table
 
# Create SQL server
az sql server create \
  --name <server-name> \
  --resource-group <group> \
  --location eastus \
  --admin-user <admin-user> \
  --admin-password <admin-password>
 
# List databases
az sql db list --resource-group <group> --server <server-name> -o table
 
# Create database
az sql db create \
  --resource-group <group> \
  --server <server-name> \
  --name <db-name> \
  --service-objective S0
 
# Show connection string
az sql db show-connection-string \
  --client ado.net \
  --name <db-name> \
  --server <server-name>
 
# Configure firewall rule
az sql server firewall-rule create \
  --resource-group <group> \
  --server <server-name> \
  --name AllowMyIP \
  --start-ip-address <ip> \
  --end-ip-address <ip>

Cosmos DB

bash

# List Cosmos DB accounts
az cosmosdb list -o table
 
# Create Cosmos DB account
az cosmosdb create \
  --name <account-name> \
  --resource-group <group> \
  --kind GlobalDocumentDB
 
# List databases
az cosmosdb sql database list \
  --account-name <account-name> \
  --resource-group <group>
 
# Create database
az cosmosdb sql database create \
  --account-name <account-name> \
  --resource-group <group> \
  --name <db-name>
 
# Get connection strings
az cosmosdb keys list \
  --name <account-name> \
  --resource-group <group> \
  --type connection-strings

Monitoring and Logs

Activity Logs

bash

# List activity logs
az monitor activity-log list -o table
 
# List activity logs for resource group
az monitor activity-log list --resource-group <group> -o table
 
# List recent activity logs
az monitor activity-log list --start-time 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z -o table
 
# Query specific operations
az monitor activity-log list --filters "eventName eq 'Create or Update Virtual Machine'"

Metrics

bash

# List available metrics
az monitor metrics list-definitions --resource <resource-id>
 
# Get metric values
az monitor metrics list \
  --resource <resource-id> \
  --metric "Percentage CPU" \
  --start-time 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z \
  --end-time 2024-01-02T00:00:00Z
 
# List metric alerts
az monitor metrics alert list -o table
 
# Create metric alert
az monitor metrics alert create \
  --name <alert-name> \
  --resource-group <group> \
  --scopes <resource-id> \
  --condition "avg Percentage CPU > 80" \
  --description "Alert when CPU exceeds 80%"

Log Analytics

bash

# List workspaces
az monitor log-analytics workspace list -o table
 
# Create workspace
az monitor log-analytics workspace create \
  --resource-group <group> \
  --workspace-name <workspace-name>
 
# Query logs
az monitor log-analytics query \
  --workspace <workspace-id> \
  --analytics-query "AzureActivity | limit 10"
 
# List tables
az monitor log-analytics workspace table list \
  --resource-group <group> \
  --workspace-name <workspace-name>

Azure Functions

Function Apps

bash

# List function apps
az functionapp list -o table
 
# Create function app
az functionapp create \
  --resource-group <group> \
  --consumption-plan-location eastus \
  --runtime node \
  --runtime-version 18 \
  --functions-version 4 \
  --name <function-app-name> \
  --storage-account <storage-account-name>
 
# Deploy function
az functionapp deployment source config-zip \
  --resource-group <group> \
  --name <function-app-name> \
  --src <zip-file-path>
 
# List functions
az functionapp function list --resource-group <group> --name <function-app-name>
 
# Show function
az functionapp function show \
  --resource-group <group> \
  --name <function-app-name> \
  --function-name <function-name>
 
# Start/stop function app
az functionapp start --resource-group <group> --name <function-app-name>
az functionapp stop --resource-group <group> --name <function-app-name>
 
# View logs
az functionapp log tail --resource-group <group> --name <function-app-name>

Key Vault

Key Vault Management

bash

# List key vaults
az keyvault list -o table
 
# Create key vault
az keyvault create \
  --name <vault-name> \
  --resource-group <group> \
  --location eastus
 
# Show key vault
az keyvault show --name <vault-name>
 
# Delete key vault
az keyvault delete --name <vault-name>
 
# Purge deleted vault
az keyvault purge --name <vault-name>

Secrets Management

bash

# List secrets
az keyvault secret list --vault-name <vault-name> -o table
 
# Set secret
az keyvault secret set --vault-name <vault-name> --name <secret-name> --value <secret-value>
 
# Get secret
az keyvault secret show --vault-name <vault-name> --name <secret-name>
 
# Get secret value only
az keyvault secret show --vault-name <vault-name> --name <secret-name> --query "value" -o tsv
 
# Delete secret
az keyvault secret delete --vault-name <vault-name> --name <secret-name>
 
# List secret versions
az keyvault secret list-versions --vault-name <vault-name> --name <secret-name>

Keys and Certificates

bash

# List keys
az keyvault key list --vault-name <vault-name> -o table
 
# Create key
az keyvault key create --vault-name <vault-name> --name <key-name> --protection software
 
# List certificates
az keyvault certificate list --vault-name <vault-name> -o table
 
# Import certificate
az keyvault certificate import \
  --vault-name <vault-name> \
  --name <cert-name> \
  --file <cert-file-path>

Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)

Role Assignments

bash

# List role assignments
az role assignment list -o table
 
# List role assignments for resource group
az role assignment list --resource-group <group> -o table
 
# Create role assignment
az role assignment create \
  --assignee <user-email-or-sp-id> \
  --role "Contributor" \
  --scope /subscriptions/<subscription-id>/resourceGroups/<group>
 
# Create role assignment for subscription
az role assignment create \
  --assignee <user-email-or-sp-id> \
  --role "Reader" \
  --subscription <subscription-id>
 
# Delete role assignment
az role assignment delete \
  --assignee <user-email-or-sp-id> \
  --role "Contributor" \
  --resource-group <group>

Role Definitions

bash

# List role definitions
az role definition list -o table
 
# List built-in roles
az role definition list --query "[?type=='BuiltInRole'].{Name:roleName}" -o table
 
# Show role definition
az role definition list --name "Contributor"
 
# Create custom role
az role definition create --role-definition <json-file-path>
 
# Update custom role
az role definition update --role-definition <json-file-path>
 
# Delete custom role
az role definition delete --name <role-name>

Complete Workflows

Workflow 1: Deploy Web Application

bash

# 1. Create resource group
az group create --name myapp-rg --location eastus
 
# 2. Create app service plan
az appservice plan create --name myapp-plan --resource-group myapp-rg --sku B1 --is-linux
 
# 3. Create web app
az webapp create --resource-group myapp-rg --plan myapp-plan --name myapp-webapp --runtime "NODE:18-lts"
 
# 4. Configure app settings
az webapp config appsettings set --name myapp-webapp --resource-group myapp-rg --settings NODE_ENV=production
 
# 5. Deploy application
az webapp deployment source config-zip --resource-group myapp-rg --name myapp-webapp --src app.zip
 
# 6. Verify deployment
az webapp show --resource-group myapp-rg --name myapp-webapp --query "defaultHostName" -o tsv

Workflow 2: Create AKS Cluster with ACR

bash

# 1. Create resource group
az group create --name k8s-rg --location eastus
 
# 2. Create container registry
az acr create --resource-group k8s-rg --name myacr --sku Basic
 
# 3. Create AKS cluster
az aks create --resource-group k8s-rg --name myk8s --node-count 2 --generate-ssh-keys --attach-acr myacr
 
# 4. Get cluster credentials
az aks get-credentials --resource-group k8s-rg --name myk8s
 
# 5. Verify cluster
kubectl get nodes

Workflow 3: Mirror Azure DevOps Repository to GitHub

bash

# 1. Set DevOps defaults
az devops configure --defaults organization=https://dev.azure.com/myorg project=MyProject
 
# 2. List repositories
az repos list -o table
 
# 3. Get repository clone URL
REPO_URL=$(az repos show --repository MyRepo --query "remoteUrl" -o tsv)
 
# 4. Clone repository (mirror)
git clone --mirror "$REPO_URL"
 
# 5. Add GitHub remote
cd MyRepo.git
git remote add github git@github.com:myuser/myrepo.git
 
# 6. Push to GitHub
git push --mirror github

Workflow 4: Setup Virtual Machine with Storage

bash

# 1. Create resource group
az group create --name vm-rg --location eastus
 
# 2. Create storage account
az storage account create --name vmstorage --resource-group vm-rg --sku Standard_LRS
 
# 3. Create virtual network
az network vnet create --resource-group vm-rg --name myVnet --subnet-name mySubnet
 
# 4. Create public IP
az network public-ip create --resource-group vm-rg --name myPublicIP
 
# 5. Create NSG with SSH rule
az network nsg create --resource-group vm-rg --name myNSG
az network nsg rule create --resource-group vm-rg --nsg-name myNSG --name AllowSSH --priority 1000 --destination-port-ranges 22 --protocol Tcp --access Allow
 
# 6. Create VM
az vm create \
  --resource-group vm-rg \
  --name myVM \
  --image Ubuntu2204 \
  --vnet-name myVnet \
  --subnet mySubnet \
  --public-ip-address myPublicIP \
  --nsg myNSG \
  --admin-username azureuser \
  --generate-ssh-keys
 
# 7. Get public IP address
az vm show --resource-group vm-rg --name myVM --show-details --query "publicIps" -o tsv

Workflow 5: Deploy Function App with Key Vault Integration

bash

# 1. Create resource group
az group create --name func-rg --location eastus
 
# 2. Create storage account for function
az storage account create --name funcstorage --resource-group func-rg --sku Standard_LRS
 
# 3. Create Key Vault
az keyvault create --name myfuncvault --resource-group func-rg --location eastus
 
# 4. Add secret to Key Vault
az keyvault secret set --vault-name myfuncvault --name DatabasePassword --value "SuperSecret123!"
 
# 5. Create function app
az functionapp create \
  --resource-group func-rg \
  --consumption-plan-location eastus \
  --runtime node \
  --runtime-version 18 \
  --functions-version 4 \
  --name myfuncapp \
  --storage-account funcstorage
 
# 6. Enable managed identity for function app
az functionapp identity assign --name myfuncapp --resource-group func-rg
 
# 7. Get function app identity
FUNC_IDENTITY=$(az functionapp identity show --name myfuncapp --resource-group func-rg --query "principalId" -o tsv)
 
# 8. Grant function app access to Key Vault
az keyvault set-policy --name myfuncvault --object-id $FUNC_IDENTITY --secret-permissions get list
 
# 9. Configure function app to reference Key Vault secret
az functionapp config appsettings set \
  --name myfuncapp \
  --resource-group func-rg \
  --settings DatabasePassword="@Microsoft.KeyVault(SecretUri=https://myfuncvault.vault.azure.net/secrets/DatabasePassword/)"

Best Practices

Output and Querying

Use appropriate output format for context:

--output table for human review
--output json for scripting and automation
--output tsv for simple parsing

Master JMESPath queries:

Filter results: --query "[?location=='eastus']"
Select fields: --query "[].{Name:name, Location:location}"
First element: --query "[0]"

Use --query with -o tsv for clean scripting:

``bash RESOURCE_ID=$(az resource show --name myapp --resource-group myrg --query "id" -o tsv) ``

Resource Management

Tag resources consistently:

``bash az group create --name myrg --location eastus --tags Environment=Production Owner=TeamA CostCenter=12345 ``

Use resource groups for lifecycle management:

Group related resources together
Delete entire environments by deleting resource group

Check resource limits and quotas:

``bash az vm list-usage --location eastus -o table ``

Security

Use managed identities when possible instead of service principals
Store secrets in Key Vault instead of app settings
Enable soft delete on Key Vaults for production
Use Azure RBAC for fine-grained access control
Regularly rotate credentials for service principals

Performance

Use --no-wait for long-running operations:

``bash az vm create --resource-group myrg --name myvm --image Ubuntu2204 --no-wait ``

Batch operations when possible:

``bash az vm start --ids $(az vm list -g myrg --query "[].id" -o tsv) ``

Use parallel execution for multiple operations:

``bash # In shell scripts, use xargs or parallel az vm list --query "[].name" -o tsv | xargs -P 5 -I {} az vm start --name {} --resource-group myrg ``

Cost Management

Stop/deallocate VMs when not in use:

``bash az vm deallocate --resource-group myrg --name myvm ``

Use appropriate SKUs - don't over-provision
Clean up unused resources regularly
Set up budgets and alerts:

``bash az consumption budget list ``

Common Patterns

Pattern 1: List Resources with Custom Output

bash

# List VMs with custom columns
az vm list --query "[].{Name:name, ResourceGroup:resourceGroup, Location:location, PowerState:powerState}" -o table
 
# List web apps with URLs
az webapp list --query "[].{Name:name, URL:defaultHostName, State:state}" -o table

Pattern 2: Bulk Operations

bash

# Start all VMs in resource group
az vm start --ids $(az vm list -g myrg --query "[].id" -o tsv)
 
# Stop all VMs in subscription
az vm deallocate --ids $(az vm list --query "[].id" -o tsv)
 
# Delete all resource groups with specific tag
az group list --tag Environment=Dev --query "[].name" -o tsv | xargs -I {} az group delete --name {} --yes --no-wait

Pattern 3: Resource Creation with Dependencies

bash

# Create resources in order, capturing IDs
VNET_ID=$(az network vnet create --name myVnet --resource-group myrg --query "newVNet.id" -o tsv)
SUBNET_ID=$(az network vnet subnet create --name mySubnet --vnet-name myVnet --resource-group myrg --query "id" -o tsv)
VM_ID=$(az vm create --name myVM --resource-group myrg --image Ubuntu2204 --subnet $SUBNET_ID --query "id" -o tsv)

Pattern 4: Configuration Backup

bash

# Export resource group template
az group export --name myrg > myrg-template.json
 
# Export individual resource
az resource show --ids <resource-id> > resource-config.json
 
# Export all resource groups
az group list --query "[].name" -o tsv | while read rg; do
  az group export --name "$rg" > "${rg}-template.json"
done

Pattern 5: Health Checks and Monitoring

bash

# Check VM power state
az vm get-instance-view --resource-group myrg --name myvm --query "instanceView.statuses[?starts_with(code, 'PowerState/')].displayStatus" -o tsv
 
# Check web app status
az webapp show --resource-group myrg --name myapp --query "state" -o tsv
 
# Monitor activity log for errors
az monitor activity-log list --start-time $(date -u -d '1 hour ago' '+%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ') --query "[?level=='Error']" -o table

Troubleshooting

Issue: Authentication Failures

bash

# Solution 1: Re-login
az logout
az login
 
# Solution 2: Clear token cache
rm -rf ~/.azure
 
# Solution 3: Login with specific tenant
az login --tenant <tenant-id>
 
# Verify authentication
az account show

Issue: Subscription Not Found

bash

# List all accessible subscriptions
az account list -o table
 
# Set correct subscription
az account set --subscription <subscription-id>
 
# Verify current subscription
az account show --query "{Name:name, ID:id}" -o table

Issue: Resource Already Exists

bash

# Check if resource exists
az resource show --name <resource-name> --resource-group <group> --resource-type <type>
 
# List resources with same name
az resource list --name <resource-name> -o table
 
# Use unique names or clean up existing resources
az resource delete --ids <resource-id>

Issue: Insufficient Permissions

bash

# Check your role assignments
az role assignment list --assignee $(az account show --query "user.name" -o tsv) -o table
 
# Check required permissions for operation
# Azure documentation provides required permissions for each operation
 
# Request access from administrator if needed

Issue: Quota or Limit Exceeded

bash

# Check current usage
az vm list-usage --location eastus -o table
 
# Request quota increase through Azure Portal or support ticket
 
# Use different region if available
az account list-locations -o table

Issue: Long-Running Operation Timeout

bash

# Use --no-wait to avoid timeout
az vm create --resource-group myrg --name myvm --image Ubuntu2204 --no-wait
 
# Check operation status
az vm show --resource-group myrg --name myvm --query "provisioningState"
 
# Monitor with polling
while true; do
  STATE=$(az vm show --resource-group myrg --name myvm --query "provisioningState" -o tsv 2>/dev/null)
  echo "Current state: $STATE"
  [[ "$STATE" == "Succeeded" ]] && break
  sleep 10
done

Quick Reference

bash

# Authentication
az login
az account show
az account set --subscription <id>
 
# Resource Groups
az group create --name <name> --location <location>
az group list -o table
az group delete --name <name> --yes
 
# Virtual Machines
az vm list -o table
az vm create --resource-group <rg> --name <name> --image Ubuntu2204
az vm start/stop/restart --resource-group <rg> --name <name>
 
# Storage
az storage account create --name <name> --resource-group <rg>
az storage blob upload --account-name <account> --container <container> --name <blob> --file <file>
 
# Web Apps
az webapp create --resource-group <rg> --plan <plan> --name <name> --runtime "NODE:18-lts"
az webapp deployment source config-zip --resource-group <rg> --name <name> --src <zip>
 
# Azure DevOps
az repos list -o table
az pipelines list -o table
az pipelines run --name <pipeline>
 
# Networking
az network vnet create --resource-group <rg> --name <vnet>
az network nsg create --resource-group <rg> --name <nsg>
 
# Container Services
az aks create --resource-group <rg> --name <cluster>
az aks get-credentials --resource-group <rg> --name <cluster>
az acr create --resource-group <rg> --name <registry>
 
# Key Vault
az keyvault create --name <vault> --resource-group <rg>
az keyvault secret set --vault-name <vault> --name <secret> --value <value>
az keyvault secret show --vault-name <vault> --name <secret> --query "value" -o tsv
 
# Monitoring
az monitor activity-log list -o table
az monitor metrics list --resource <id> --metric <metric>
 
# Useful query patterns
--query "[].{Name:name, Location:location}" -o table
--query "[?location=='eastus'].name" -o tsv
--query "[0].id" -o tsv

Integration with Other Tools

Working with Git

After Azure DevOps repository operations, integrate with git workflow:

bash

# Clone Azure DevOps repo
REPO_URL=$(az repos show --repository MyRepo --query "remoteUrl" -o tsv)
git clone "$REPO_URL"
 
# Use git skill for commit and push operations

Working with Kubernetes

After AKS operations, use kubectl:

bash

# Get credentials
az aks get-credentials --resource-group myrg --name myk8s
 
# Then use kubectl
kubectl get nodes
kubectl apply -f deployment.yaml

Working with Docker

After ACR operations, use docker:

bash

# Login to ACR
az acr login --name myacr
 
# Then use docker
docker build -t myacr.azurecr.io/myapp:v1 .
docker push myacr.azurecr.io/myapp:v1

Summary

Primary directives:

Always authenticate before running commands
Use appropriate output formats for context (table for humans, json/tsv for scripts)
Master --query for filtering results
Tag resources consistently for organization
Use --no-wait for long operations to avoid timeouts
Store secrets in Key Vault, not in app settings
Use managed identities when possible
Clean up resources to avoid unnecessary costs

Most common commands:

az login - Authenticate
az account set --subscription <id> - Set subscription
az group create/delete - Manage resource groups
az <service> list -o table - List resources
az <service> show --query "<path>" -o tsv - Get specific values
az devops configure --defaults - Set DevOps defaults
az repos list - List repositories
az pipelines run - Run pipelines

← v1.0.0 All versions